On March 20th I will be giving a talk on "What are the cultural consequences of sexual liberation?" Up until that time I want to explore different themes associated with that topic in this blog. Your thoughts and comments would be very much appreciated as I think through this topic and refine my thoughts.
Are we better off as a society and as individuals now that women have been "sexually liberated"? Liberation suggests freedom and that I would suggest is the crux of the matter. What is freedom? In the prevalent philosophy of the post-modern era, freedom seems to be couched in negative terms. I'm free from something....I'm free when I'm unconstrained in what I can and cannot do. This view of freedom is a superficial view, the "don't tell me what I can and cannot do" cry of the teenager who is thwarted by a parent and it is a false notion of freedom. It is false in the sense that we are always constrained by our dependencies and limitations. We are free to step off the roof of a building but we are limited by gravity as to the effect we experience after the first step. We are free to eat as much as we want but we are limited by the body's reaction to our actions through indigestion. Freedom is not the power to do what you want but rather the power to become what you should be - to realize your full potential as a human being.
A kitten naturally becomes a fully functioning cat but a child does not naturally become a mature, fully functioning adult. You do not reach full maturity merely through the passage of time; age does not an adult make - an individual must also develop their minds, wills and hearts to become a fully functioning adult. We all have the experience of meeting an adult who has an undeveloped mind - who is uninterested and uninformed about the world around them - who has a selfish, limiting view of people and events. We also have the experience of meeting adults who lack self-discipline. They have never developed the ability to discipline themselves and use their will-power to fulfill their potential. They are not free but slaves to their whims and passions - buffeted by events and distracted by trivia. Even in ourselves, if we are honest, we have the constant struggle to exercise our free will to choose paths, to inculcate habits and to make decisions that move us towards our full potential.
"Sexual liberation" has not served to "free" anyone from anything. As far as I can tell, women were "liberated" from their identity as mothers and wives, stripped of the dignity that belongs to true femininity. The ability to jump from one sexual encounter to another does not make a woman any more free than one who is, as you said, able to step off the roof of a building only to be aided by gravity in plunging to the ground below.
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